


Early Morning Sunshine

by ladyofacat



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: A LOT of Angst, Adrien Agreste Is Sunshine, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Best Friend Kagami, Confessions, Crushes, Dating, F/M, Falling In Love, Fencing, Fluff, IT'S MY FIRST FIC!!!, Identity Reveal, Jealous Adrien Agreste, Jealousy, Mystery, Oblivious Adrien, Oblivious Adrien Agreste, Poetry, a lot of fluff, ladrien, yay!!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-05
Updated: 2018-10-05
Packaged: 2019-07-21 00:00:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16148318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyofacat/pseuds/ladyofacat
Summary: Adrien Agreste fell in love with a poet named Ladybug, until she begins writing a series about a mysterious boy she herself is interested in.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Theme: Forbidden Love  
> AU: Ladybug is a poet Adrien falls in love with  
> Prompt: Poetry  
> 

_Sometimes I feel like the ghosts of the city notice me more than you do,_

_In the long lonely walks by the cold river,_  
_In the silent dark rooms that breathe air into the catacombs,_  
_In the cold stone basements that carry the city on their backs,_  
_Their inhabitants turn their heads in my direction and stare, meanwhile your eyes barely glace._  
_I’m like them, after all, a ghost._

 _Fate decided to let us cross paths in the city of love,_  
_in the city of lights, surely named after you,_  
_Surely someone hoped Paris could hope to shine like you do,_  
_I can’t shine like you do, I’m but a ghost._

 _Your light, my shadow,_  
_You shine, I hide,_

 _It’s almost forbidden,_  
_And you slip through my fingers, like the sunlight that’s so characteristically yours._

Adrien finished reading the poem and looked out the window. The drive was as quiet and uneventful as ever, with the streets of Paris speeding past the windows of the fancy limousine.

His life following his 15th birthday was marked by an increase in photo shoots and early mornings, most of them shoved into his schedule last minute. One instance of his alarm not going off caused him to be late one morning, and he was forced to visit a nearby bakery on the way to the photoshoot for breakfast; the closest place he could easily drive by and quickly be on his way. Luckily, all Parisians bakeries were open since before the sunrise.

Turns out he loved their croissants so much that he began going to that bakery every morning for breakfast. Plus, it meant he could sleep in an extra 30 minutes. After a few days, the cashier even began having his order ready for him by the time he arrived. Croissant, brie, and a small coffee.

It was by accidentally overhearing one of the cashier’s conversations with her co-worker that Adrien learnt of Ladybug and her Ladyblog.

Ladybug was a poet. An artist. A mystery. It’s as if she appeared among the moonlit rooftops of Paris that kept watch over him at night, and, without warning, vanished just as quickly. She was a faceless shadow he couldn’t touch but was ever present in his thoughts.

He hadn’t been following her for very long, barely over a month, yet she had quickly become a vital part of his everyday life.

She dutifully updated her page every day with a new poem about her life. Sometimes, if the poem was short, she updated fairly early in the day, while her longer poems would delay her posting time until the late hours of the evening.

Adrien smiled fondly. Although it was a break in her usual style, the latest poem, despite being a little more macabre, described her very well. To Adrien, she was like a ghost. Her existence electrified him, her words echoed in his mind, her writing was breathtaking.

She was untouchable. No matter how many times he commented on her poems with words of praise, or how much adoration he held for every single word, it’s not like he could actually reach her. Maybe it was partly the fact she was so untouchable that made Adrien so obsessed with Ladybug.

Today, she hadn’t yet updated her blog yet. He flickered through the same 3 apps and came back to her page again, refreshed, and unsurprisingly, there was nothing there besides yesterday’s love poem. The blond sighed, unhappiness nudging at him.

It was already the evening, and he had really been hoping a new poem would be able to lift his spirits before he got home.

He pouted and opened yesterday’s poem instead,

 _How romantic it is, to have met you in the city of love,_  
_Surely fate had a say, the way you came in with the sunrise and I feel in love,_  
_it couldn’t have been a coincidence,_  
_How lucky I am, to fall in love with your green eyes in the pink Parisian Spring…_

The blond leaned back onto the leather seat and closed his eyes.

Despite Ladybug’s elusive nature, her poems faithfully and consistently left Adrien’s heart singing. Her poetry, the way her words tinted beautiful colours and breathed vibrant images into his mind; the way she waltzed with words, roused music with her pacing and painted emotions behind his eyelids… She was his small candle of light in his otherwise black, cold and empty life with his father. He hadn’t been allowed to go to public school, after all.

Instead, every day, Ladybug was what he looked forward to. Her adoration for the world around her was like a kiss of fresh air or the embrace of a warm fire. She’s his reliable reminder that a colourful world exists, that there’s more out there beside his grey prison.

Adrien jumped when his phone suddenly beeped loudly with a notification from the Ladyblog; **‘New post!’** it promised happily. An update! He grinned widely and scrolled upwards.

A new post titled ‘New Series: Early Morning Sunshine’ adorned the top of the Ladyblog. How exciting! Did this mean more poems in the early morning to help him start the day with a smile?

He read the description carefully and felt his blood freeze. He read it again. And again. His eyes slowly and repeatedly dragged themselves over the words, and he slightly tilted his head in confusion.

_**“I’ve been writing about this boy for almost a month now, and I’ve finally decided to dedicate a series just to him, separate from my other poems.** _

Adrien frowned and felt his chest tighten with sudden jealousy. He wondered who the new poems were about.

_**For you; kind, warm, and mysterious. Every morning, my heart sings to you. My Early Morning Sunshine.”** _

* * *

 _Kiss me, like the green flame of your eyes burns and only I can soothe the flames,_  
_Kiss me, until the taste of my lips and the touch of my skin is something you cannot live without,_  
_Kiss me with the same tempo as a dance, one kiss, first step, second kiss, two steps, three kisses, three steps._

 _Our kiss, the mixture of sweet and sour, the meeting of day and night,_  
_it doesn't matter to me how different we are,_  
_Kiss me, even though you shouldn’t._

_...Will you ever kiss me?_

Adrien groaned loudly and felt like her sad words sliced daggers into his chest. He was in his trailer, right before a fashion show, and yet he was having trouble concentrating on anything else except his Ladybug.

The blond put his phone down, leaned back on his chair and closed his eyes.

* * *

It’s been three weeks since she announced her new series, and Adrien still masochistically obsessed over the love poems that she wrote to another man. Day after day, he read her feelings, words of devotion, and an overwhelming longing for someone that wasn’t him.

One of the worst ones came from a few days ago;

 _I always settle for just a glance at you._  
_A moment to get lost in your eyes,_  
_Just a glimpse of you makes my day better._

_A second, and my heart has already melted._

_Your smile when you thank me is enough._  
_A fleeting touch when our hands graze before you turn away and leave._  
_I watch you walk away and I wish I could pull you back, my Early Morning Sunshine._

The descriptions were too vague to tell much about the target of Ladybug’s affections, besides the fact that she thought he was the most beautiful, kind, and wonderful person that brightened her mornings. Adrien resentfully wondered how she could know he was so wonderful if she barely spoke to him. She thought the world of this oblivious boy, even though the poems heavily implied this person knowingly tempted her and kept himself just out of Ladybug’s reach. This boy didn’t even bother starting a conversation with her, much less get to know her.

It was simply unacceptable! Adrien had never witnessed such unmerited cruelness in his long 15 years of life. He pouted and took another bite of the croissant he was eating, the nice cashier at the bakery had snuck him an extra one.

In his wildest dreams, he entertained the idea of himself being the target of her affections and hearing her read her poems to him. But it was ridiculous; She was a faceless stranger on the internet. Plus, his father wouldn’t be too impressed if Adrien suddenly brought a strange girl over and introduced her as his sole reason for happiness.

_Kiss me, until the taste of my lips and the touch of my skin is something you cannot live without,_

He felt his chest tighten.

Her poems used to be filled him with hope, love, and warmth, and this boy had twisted them and made them about pain, heartbreak, unreciprocated longing. He wanted to thank her and explain to her everything she meant to him; he wanted to praise her skills, inspire her, and live in her world. She didn’t need some guy that didn’t even look at her!

Yesterday’s poem was still fresh in his mind,

 _My Early Morning Sunshine..._  
_My heart belongs to you,_  
_to the green fields of your eyes,_  
_to the cascades of gold in your hair,_  
_to the kindness of your smile,  
_ _and even to the quickness of your step when you leave._

Why was he going in circles, over and over again?

He suddenly sat up on his bed and felt the fire of injustice engulf him. If Ladybug loved this ignorant ‘Sunshine’ boy so much, he must be completely and utterly blind not to realize it. The least this boy could do was notice her and give her a chance! Adrien knew that if someone loved him so desperately like this, he would have at least surely noticed!

His phone suddenly vibrated with a notification promising a new post, and Adrien quickly scrolled up.

A personal post. He groaned. The personal posts were almost as painful as the poems themselves.

_**“I noticed he looked very sad today… I wish I could kiss that pout off his face. I left a small gift for him, I hope he likes it.”** _

He, irritated, bit off a piece of the extra croissant the cashier gave him and angrily wondered what kind of gift the undeserving ‘Sunshine’ man got.

_**“This morning when he came in, the sunrise made his hair look like it was made of strings of gold.”** _

Adrien himself was blond, he could tell her that blond hair wasn’t all that interesting. He didn’t understand the media’s obsession with it.

_**“His eyes are so green, I could stare into them for hours.”** _

He grumbled; he always thought blue or hazel was so much nicer than green. He failed to find beauty in his own average green eyes.

_**“I made a joke today and he laughed… When he joked back, and I couldn’t stop laughing!”** _

Adrien scoffed. He bet he could also make Ladybug laugh even more than this guy, he was a master at jokes and especially puns. He knows she’d love them and think he’s very clever. Why, hadn't he made the cashier laugh this morning? He was hilarious!

He pouted bitterly at his phone. It was useless. It’s not like he could talk to her; her page didn’t allow for private messages and how creepy would it be for a random commenter to ask for other ways to contact her?

A part of him reminded him that he didn't even know what Ladybug looked like, or her personality, besides a vague description she posted several months ago, saying that her eyes were blue, her hair was black, and she was half Chinese. But how could he not fall in love with someone who wrote such poetry? How could he not fall in love with someone who always managed to make him swoon with every word? He wondered what her voice sounded like… it must sound as sweet as honey, soft like foam, comforting like tea. It must, she comes from a world cascading with life, bursting with songs, glimmering with mystery, dripping with beauty.

The blond sighed in resignation and simply kept reading.

* * *

Adrien had begun attending fencing class less often; he had been yelled at by the teacher several times for being too aggressive. He pictured his opponent as the one who was breaking Ladybug’s heart; the anger would burst from his chest and he would strike. He would realize too late he had been too violent, and the teacher eventually banned him from attending more lessons for at least a week, until he ‘got his issues under control.’

Not even his best friend Kagami, a fencing prodigy, could stand his attacks. After the teacher kicked him from class, he finally gave in and told her about his issue, wanting to know her advice.

“Maybe try finding out who Ladybug is through her poems?” she’d advised, frowning at the bruise on her shoulder. Adrien’s fault, when he accidentally shoved her backwards and she hit one of the school’s pillars. “...Try to look for clues? She posts from the mid-morning onwards, meaning she doesn’t see him for the rest of the day, and she named him ‘Early morning Sunshine’ so... Clearly, she only sees this guy early in the mornings. What place do you visit daily but only in the mornings? Maybe he’s a parent dropping off their child? Maybe she’s the secretary of a building and she only sees him when he’s walking into work? Maybe she’s a waitress and he comes in for breakfast at her café?”

“It’s pointless, Kagami. The poems are too vague,” he’d grumbled.

“Maybe separate, but putting them together may—”

“She’s in love with another man,” he had said firmly. “It was dumb of me to fall in love with some stranger online. This is my fault.”

Kagami had just given him a sad look. “I’d offer you a fencing match to get your mind off things, but my shoulder hurts too much.”

“…Sorry.”

After class, Adrien came back home and found a new post by Ladybug. How odd… In the time he had been following the Ladyblog, she had never posted anything this late at night. ‘Personal post’ it read, but it wasn’t listed under the ‘Early Morning Sunshine’ series.

He sat down on his bed and opened up the link, wondering what it was.

_**Hello!** _

_**First, I want to thank everyone for always reading my poems.** _  
_**I finally have the courage to confess my love to my crush tomorrow,** _  
_**I want him to know how important he is to me.** _  
_**When I see him, I’ll tell him my feelings,** _  
_**I hope my Sunshine loves me back…** _  
_**My friend says she’s sure he does, I hope she’s right!** _

_**-Ladybug** _

Adrien’s heart had already shattered into a million pieces.

He lost her. Her words were as painful as a block of ice sliding down his back or a hot sword slicing up his chest.

The other boy would be an idiot not to immediately accept her feelings, even if he was blind to them before. He deflates, feeling the numbness spread all over his body and leave him empty.

In his 15 years of life, his limbs had never felt so heavy. He felt the candle, the breath that Ladybug brought into his life, blow out. It was his own fault. How could he obsess over a random person on the internet? Someone he didn’t know? They were in the same city and yet they were worlds apart. He didn’t even know her.

He closed the Ladyblog, dropped his phone off the side of his bed, and let his exhaustion and heartbreak haul him to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

When Adrien woke up, he felt just as heavy as he did the previous night. He laid in bed and imagined a faceless man being told by a faceless woman, Ladybug, that she loved him. He imagined the man holding Ladybug’s hands. He imagined Ladybug deleting her blog and taking away all the poems that meant everything to him.

He felt alone again. 

After he picked up his phone and slowly went over his schedule for the day, he wondered if he could cancel all his appointments and stay in bed… Was heartbreak over a poet he’s never met be a good excuse? He groaned loudly and buried his face into his pillow.

After 30 minutes of moping around, Adrien finally got up and took a shower. He dressed in silence, the numbness making him take his time.

He visited the bakery for his breakfast, now more mindful of the hour. 

"Thanks, Marinette," he said with a smile, as usual.

Marinette smiled back briefly but didn’t meet his gaze. Instead, she handed him his breakfast and Adrien in turn handed back his generous tip, as usual. However, when he was about to leave, Marinette took out a piece of paper from her pocket and shoved it towards him.

Marinette smiled shyly. “F-For you,” she said.

Adrien let his breakfast down on the counter and took the piece of paper, “What is it?” He asked.

“Oh, It’s a little… I’m not that good, it’s more of a hobby, but I often write—” she began.

He was about to open the piece of paper when his driver honked the car's horn, interrupting Marinette’s mumblings and reminding Adrien that he was already very late. 

“I’m sorry, I really have to go. But thanks, Marinette. I’ll read it in the car, promise.” He winked at her, pocketed the piece of paper, and grabbed his breakfast. “See you tomorrow!” he called and left the bakery in a hurry. 

He didn’t see the disappointment that spread across her face, or the way she bit her lip and looked away. 

He got into the limo, and a sudden phone call from his father made him forget about the piece of paper waiting in his pocket. 

* * *

It had been a long day. 

Adrien half dragged his feet into his room and locked the door behind him. He checked the clock; 10 PM.

He undressed and slipped his hand in the pocket of his pants, to pull out his phone. With it, the small piece of paper Marinette handed him fell out and slowly drifted to the floor. 

Adrien frowned at the piece of paper in confusion, before the memory of Marinette handing it to him resurfaced in this mind. He leaned down to pick it up, wondered what it was, maybe something he forgot to pay off? A change in menu? Propaganda?

He sat on his bed and opened the piece of paper. What he found was a small paragraph, handwritten in black pen. 

_I long for the courage to say these words to you in person, because as of now, I simply cannot;_  
_I’m afraid that my trembling lips would betray me, so instead I count on my unshakeable pen._  


_Your hair shines like the morning sun, like a halo of gold and warm glow_  
_Your eyes are made of the green of luck, I always get lost in them when I see you,_  
_I feel my heart skip every time a smile escapes your lips_  
_You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen,_  
_my early morning Sunshine._  


_Writing this might come across as shameless, as I realize you may not think much of me yet,_  
_However I’ll be here every morning waiting, if you wouldn’t mind_  
_To maybe get to know me?_  


_My heart is yours,_  
_-Marinette_  


 

Adrien choked.

Marinette?! Marinette was Ladybug? He was the target of Ladybug’s affections?!

Him?!

When she mentioned him being her early morning Sunshine… Did she refer to him actually coming in every morning with the sunrise? Has she been so close the entire time? 

He re-read the poem. This was her style. 

If this was her, then his Ladybug had been literally right in front of him and he couldn’t see her. He himself was the ignorant man he hated so much, the same one so utterly blind that who didn’t notice Ladybug’s overflowing affections, the same one that caused her all the pain and longing that bled through her poetry. 

He felt newfound warmth rushing through his body, and everything suddenly made sense. The morning poems after his breakfast, the green eyes and blond hair that belonged to him, the bakery he went into every morning, their daily meeting at sunrise when he paid for his food, his obliviousness.

He jumped up with his phone in hand, ready to call his driver, before he froze. It was very, very late at night… 

He walked to his bedroom door and peeked out. There was nobody in the hallways. He looked downstairs, at his father’s office, and heard faint busy voices, meaning both his father and Nathalie were still awake.

There was no way his father would allow him to leave at this hour. 

It was clear what he had to do. For his Ladybug.

Even though he was 15, he had never sneaked out before, however, there was no way he could wait until morning to see her. She was finally within his reach. 

Adrien grabbed a coat, swiftly changed into more casual clothes, slipped on his tennis shoes, walked out of his room and closed his door as quietly as possible. The blond slowly made his way down the stairs, and into the dining room. After deactivating the house security system that kept all outside doors locked, he sneaked out the front door and his excitement made him burst into a run.

 

* * *

 

Within 20 minutes, he stood outside the door of the bakery. 

Closed. 

Obviously. 

He looked up and saw lights on the upper floors, and the silhouette of a girl that stood by the window. He immediately recognized her as Marinette. She seemed to be writing something on a small notebook, wiping tears from her eyes. He inhaled and held his breath. Was she crying because of him? Was she writing a poem? A poem about him not answering? Did she give up on him?

...Was Marinette always so beautiful?

After a second of staring, he vigorously began waving his arms up at her.

“Ladybug! Hey!” he shouted at her, but even after his best efforts, Marinette did not appear to see him. She just looked into the distance, and after several seconds, she turned around and slowly closed the curtains behind her. 

He looked around for anything he could find to get her attention. He felt his phone in his pocket, maybe he could try to reach her by leaving a comment? However, writing ‘please look outside, I’m down here’ might get him blocked. The park was nearby, maybe he could get a few pebbles and throw them at her window.

He was about to run to the park, when he looked up and noticed Ladybug leaning slightly over the railing of her balcony, staring into the distance. Ok, change of plans. 

He was about to shout at her to get her attention when he realized… He didn’t have anything to gift her. He didn’t have flowers, or chocolates, or anything! He looked down at his watch, almost half past 10. It was too late to go to a flower shop… No, his response had to be perfect. He would come back tomorrow. He didn’t want to keep her waiting, but Ladybug deserved better. He promised himself to bring a bouquet of roses dipped in gold tomorrow at sunrise, and… and… and the fanciest chocolates Paris could offer. Would she also like some gold earrings? 

He didn’t realize he had started to pace back and forth when a shaky voice broke him from his thoughts. 

“A-Adrien?”

He immediately looked up and found that his Ladybug, who was looking utterly surprised, was staring down at him from her balcony. 

Here she was. His Ladybug.

His candle in the dark. His breath of fresh air. His warm fire. His promise for tomorrow. 

His happiness.

He exhaled the breath he was holding and melted.

“Uh…” The happiness finally overwhelmed him and he laughed, “hello, Marinette! I… I read your poem!” Even from 2 floors down, he noticed her tense up. “I want to! I mean, I do want to get to know you!”

They stared at each other until Marinette cleared her throat, “Um, s-stay there!” she called out to him, and vanished from her balcony. 

A minute later, the door to the bakery swung open, and Adrien could only stare. 

He asked himself again if Marinette had always been so beautiful. She was gorgeous, even with still puffy eyes from crying. He was the one who put those tears there.

He stepped forward and took both her hands, kissed them and kept his lips against her knuckles. Her blush made his heart beat faster.

“I’m a big Ladybug fan, you know?”

“You are?” Her voice had a higher pitch than normal. 

“Your poems, I’ve been following them since before you started the ‘sunshine’ series, and I know that’s not very long, but…” and he kissed her hands again, “Somedays, they’re the only reason I smile. The way you write, and how you make music with your poems, you illuminate my life. They’re so full of life, and beautiful. I wait for them everyday, I read them over and over, they mean so much to me, you have no idea. _You_ mean so much to me. I want to know the person behind them.” He did his best to convey his emotions into the look he was giving her.

Marinette opened her mouth to speak, but Adrien interrupted quickly, “Wait wait, please, I’m not done. Ladybug, when you began writing about a boy, I spent so long being jealous. I’d still read your poems over and over, and I’d lay in bed and wonder who the poems were for. I spent so long hating him because I wanted to be the one you wrote poems about, instead of noticing what was around me. I was so blind, everything made sense and yet I couldn’t see it. I was angry at him because I felt he purposefully kept himself out of your reach, and I didn’t realize it was me.”

He kissed her hands again, and said, “This is shameless too, but I love Ladybug, and since she’s you… I love you, Marinette. I want to get to know you, and I want to make up for causing you all the pain you wrote about. Will you give me the chance?”

Marinette stared, wide-eyed, at Adrien for several seconds. She pushed their hands down and slipped hers from his hold. Adrien thought she was going to tell him it was too late, that she had waited all day and he didn’t answer, but before he could protest, she stepped forward and leaned against his chest.

“I didn’t know my poems meant so much to you…” she whispered against his chest. 

He immediately wrapped his arms around her and sighed happily. “They do. I love them.”

They stayed like that for several long seconds; she rested against him and listened to his accelerated heartbeat, while he held her tight against him and let his happiness overwhelm his senses. While Marinette quietly digested everything he told her, Adrien simply held her tighter against him.

She suddenly pulled away slightly to look up at him, with a brighter blush than before, just in time for him to look down at her. She hesitated for a second, before asking, “...Are you free this weekend?”

He melted. “...I’ll clear my whole weekend just for you.”

Marinette couldn’t hide her giggle, and she buried her face against his chest again, “Great,” 

 

* * *

It’s been six months since Marinette had valiantly handed Adrien a poem containing her feelings. 

She still writes poems about him, of course, except now she reads him her poetry as he happily lays his head on her lap. Sometimes he even helps her write them, whenever she couldn’t think of a rhyme, forgot a specific word, or lacked the perfect simile.

“‘My sunshine is… As brave as a lion’,” He had suggested one time, and she laughed. 

“That’s not original, Adrien…” 

“it’s the truth,” he replied, and she leaned in to kiss his cheek. 

While her poems used to leave him heartbroken and desperate, they now make his chest grow warm in a familiar way. Her poems about him now talk about how warm Adrien’s hands felt, about his happiness at finally being allowed to go to public school after spending months convincing his father, about how he can’t stop kissing her whenever he’s presented with a chance.

Kagami was very happy to meet Marinette. It meant she didn’t leave fencing classes with bruises anymore, plus her best friend was happier than she’d ever seen him.

A month after Marinette revealed her identity to Adrien, he asked her to be his girlfriend. She had immediately said yes.

Adrien, who would always slip through her fingers like dry sand, was now a constant presence in her life. Adrien, who quickly walked away from her morning after morning, now texted her at random hours of the day whenever he was thinking about her. Adrien, whose hand she could only touch for a single moment once per the day, now kept one arm around her wherever they stood next to each other. Adrien, who used to obsess over her poems, now gets very upset with her if he discovered she stayed up all night to write those poems instead of sleeping. 

It’s been months since Marinette first posted a poem about the blond boy who rushed into her parent’s bakery one morning, and if you were to ask her, she’d happily reply, “my sunshine is everything I’ve always wanted.” 


End file.
